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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 04/28/2011 RECEIVED MINUTES JUN 0 3 2011 CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS APRIL 28, 2011 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. James Klein, Vice Chairman Ms. Mary L. Berven Ms. Kim Charba Ms. Anita Eisenhauer Ms. Marie Guajardo Ms. Karen Howden Mr. John Olson Dr. Mark Robbins Ms. Susie Rucker MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Craig Thompson, Chairman (Excused) Ms. Kris Cardona. (Excused) Ms. Laura Commons (Excused) Mr. Anthony Gavlik (Excused) Mr. Herb Morrison (Excused) Mr. Leo Rios (Excused) STAFF PRESENT: Mr. Andrew Dimas, City Planner Ms. Linda Williams, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order at 4:35 p.m. by Dr. James Klein, Vice Chairman. The roll was called and a quorum was declared. • ACTION ITEM: Approve February 24, 2011 Minutes: The February 24, 2011 minutes were approved as distributed. Motion to approve the minutes was made by Ms. Berven and seconded by Mr. Olson. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Update on Planning Commission Action and Future Scheduling for City Council Action on the Unified Development Code Document (UDC): Andrew Dimas, Staff Liaison, addressed the commission. Mr. Dimas updated commissioners on the status of the Unified Development Code document. Mr. Dimas continued that the Unified Development Code (UDC) was previously • approved by the Planning Commission at the March 30, 2011 meeting and City Council approved the first reading of the ordinance to adopt the UDC at their April 19, 2011 meeting. The second reading was scheduled for May 10, 2011. Mr. Dimas continued that amendments to the Zoning map would be the last step in the process of final adoption of the document. Mr. Dimas explained that amending the zoning map would a lengthy process and to expedite the project, there would be a joint meeting between the Planning Commission and City Council to discuss revising existing zoning maps. Mr. Dimas continued that the goal was to make the UDC user friendly and there were some title changes to most of the zoning districts, but the changes would make the transition a lot easier. Mr. Dimas presented a brief overview of several zoning districts that would change with new titles: • SCANNED Landmark Commission Meeting April 28.201 1 Page 2 Current Zoning District Name New Zoning District Name Residential Districts FR Farm-rural FR No change RE Residential Estate RE No change RA One-family Dwelling RS-15 Single-family 15 R-1 A One-family Dwelling RS-10 Single-family 10 R-1 B One-family Dwelling RS-6 Single-family 6 R-1 C One-family Dwelling RS-4.5 Single-family 4.5 Nonresidential Districts AB Professional Office ON Office B-1 Neighborhood Business CN-1 Neighborhood Commercial B-1 A Neighborhood Business CN-2 Neighborhood Commercial B-6 Primary Business Core CBD Downtown Commercial Mr. Dimas added that the UDC document was approximately 499 pages in length, but it was very easy to read. Mr. Dimas explained that the new titles for residential zoning districts were changed to reflect the lot size for each residential district (i.e., RS-15 was for lot size of 15,000 square feet, RS-10 - lot size of 10,000 square feet). Mr. Dimas clarified there were no changes to the historical overlay district and Ms. Eisenhauer asked if commissioners could receive a listing for the "HC" designations and Mr. Dimas stated that a copy would be provided in the next packet. Update on Friends of Heritaae Park: Ms. Berven stated the group met on April 6, 2011 and they are trying to plan activities that would create more people traffic to the park. Ms. Berven continued that Mr. Richard Sanchez, head of the Jazz Festival, attended the meeting and he was very excited that the expansion of Heritage Park. Ms. Berven stated that there were other individuals who were trying to initiate moving the festival from Heritage Park. Ms. Berven continued she would keep the commission updated. Landmark Commission Annual Awards Ceremony: Dr. Klein stated it was time to begin planning for the annual awards ceremony. Dr. Klein continued that last year's ceremony was held during one of Rotary's Club monthly meetings and the commission should decide whether or not the awards ceremony would be held at one their monthly meetings or at another time. A question was asked regarding when was the ceremony held and it was answered the awards ceremony was held at their September meeting. Dr. Klein stated volunteers were needed to work on the committee to review potential honorees. After further discussion, Dr. Klein, Dr. Robbins, Ms. Guajardo, and Mr. Olson volunteered to serve on the committee along with Mr. Thompson. After all comments and discussion concluded, Ms. Berven stated she would contact Art Zeitler, also a member of the Friends of Heritage Park, to see if it was possible for the commission to hold its ceremony during one of their meetings and what date would be available. Ms. Berven stated she would provide an update at the next meeting. Presentation on Historical Cemeteries within the City of Corpus Christi: Ms. Howden stated that she and Anita Eisenhauer received an email from Craig Thompson requesting them to give a presentation on the historical cemeteries within the city. Ms. Howden stated since there were several cemeteries that could be included in the presentation, they wanted input from the commission whether the presentation should include specific ones that were more familiar (i.e. Old Bay View, New Bay View, Rose Hill, Holy Cross). After a brief discussion, Ms. Howden stated they would give their presentation at the May meeting and outlined which cemeteries could be included. Mr. Dimas added if staff was given the list of the cemeteries that would be included in the presentation, aerial images would be available as part of the presentation. Landmark Commission Meeting April 28,2011 Page 3 Initiating Zoning Application for "HC" Designation of Properties Adiacent to Heritage Park: Mr. Dimas stated that several months ago, the commission discussed and approved submitting a zoning application to start the process to "HC" designate the city-owned properties located adjacent to Heritage Park. Mr. Dimas continued that once the information is compiled, it would be sent to Engineering Services and Park and Recreation for their review and input. Mr. Dimas continued that staff wants to make sure they are on board before any zoning overlays are added. Mr. Dimas added that he and Mr. Thompson were scheduled to meeting to discuss the application submittal, but because of schedule conflicts, they were unable to meet. Ms. Berven asked how much time would be allowed for obtaining the information and getting the process started and Mr. Dimas answered that the process should take less than six less months. Mr. Dimas continued that Development Services would submit the application, but waiting on requested information from other departments could possibly delay the process. Ms. Howden asked when was the next meeting for Friends of Heritage Park and Ms. Berven answered their next meeting was Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Ms. Howden asked if the meeting was opened to the public and Ms. Berven answered that it was a luncheon meeting and if she was to attend, advance notification would be needed. Ms. Howden asked how could an individual review the Master Plan for the expansion of Heritage Park and Ms. Berven answered that Craig Thompson has the master plan and he could email her a copy of the plan. Ms. Berven informed commissioners that the Rotary Club was planning to build a bandstand in front of the Galvan House in Heritage Park. Ms. Berven continued the Rotary Club and the Park and Recreation Department would oversee the project and Mr. Johnny Cotten was the architect for the project. Mr. Olson asked if the Landmark Commission would be involved in the project and Mr. Dimas answered yes the commission would be involved since Heritage Park was "HC" designated. The plans should be reviewed by the Master Review Committee and stamped with the Landmark Commission's certificate of appropriateness. Ms. Eisenhauer stated that since the Texas Historical Commission held annual CLG meetings for all CLGs, it would be great to be able to use grant funding to have the green books digitized and placed on the city's website. The commission could submit a grant proposal to complete the project. Mr. Dimas responded that preliminary work was begun in reviewing some of the notebooks to determine what data was missing, verifying whether the structures were demolished or still existed, but the project was not completed. Mr. Dimas continued that the department does not have the staff to commit to this project since it will take quality time to thoroughly go through each notebook. Ms. Eisenhauer added the commission should be reviewing the listing on an annual basis. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the grant proposal should be scheduled as a future agenda item. Mr. Dimas informed commissioners that on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, a documentary crew would be in town to participate in a documentary highlighting "Corrosion Prevention." The documentary would include the Coast Guard, Navy and the City's response to corrosion prevention throughout the city that included historical structures. Ms. Michelle Barrera and Ms. Carmen Flora were introduced to the commission. Ms. Barrera and Ms. Flora are both students at Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi. Ms. Barrera stated as part of her school project, she was part of the Bold Future focus group. At that meeting, a discussion ensued regarding the old Nueces County Courthouse and what possible alternatives were available in trying to get something done in its preservation. Ms. Barrera continued the meeting was very informative, but she felt the city could do more to bring more to the community as far as things that could generate money as well as provide activities f or the community. Landmark Commission Meeting April 28,2011 Page 4 • Discussion ensured regarding several proposals and ideas that were presented in the past on how to prevent further deterioration of the building, to stabilize it and also find a possible re-use for such a larger structure. It was continued that some work had been done on the building, but not enough to where it could be reused. Ms. Berven commented that the courthouse was not under the city, but it was the property of Nueces County. Ms. Berven continued that several years ago, the Texas Historical Commission made available $4 million in grant funding, but Nueces County could not match the funding. Ms. Charba stated it would be great if LNV Engineering could provide the commission an update on their findings on the courthouse. After all comments and discussion concluded, no action was taken. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m. Alr J4jUL.A.-to Me Lind,. Williams Andrew Dimas, City Planner Rees ding Secretary _ Staff Liaison to Landmark Commission • (H PLN DIR\IINDA\WORD\LANDMARK\MiNUIPS\21111\APR2RI I.MNSI